Grains of Love
by Red Blossom57
Summary: What happens when the most feared guy ever, starts developing feelings for a certain pink haired medic?
1. Prologue

I do not own Naruto…sadly. Hope you enjoy my first story ever!

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><p>I never knew how life could be so misunderstanding, and how it could sometimes be so confusing. We laugh at the irony in life, and chicken out when things get tough. That's what I do. We do. Everyone does… except <em>him.<em>

And there he was in front of me, protecting me, while also gushing blood from 3 fatal blows to the stomach and shoulder.

I never thought that I would see the day where Gaara of the Desert would be protecting me, especially after what happened in the forest during the chinnuin exams when we were 12.

After standing up for my, at the time, beloved Sasuke….. I got smashed up against the tree that I will never forget, and being pushed by the sand I will never forget.

Before I fainted from exhaustion, I saw some kind of emotion, that strangely for him, seemed like sadness, or regret…and that look will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Even after it's been so many years, and we both have grown so close, that look _still_ never leaves my mind, and I find myself remembering it often than not.

You can tell in his eyes that his view of himself being a blood-lusting monster has changed, but when it comes to this new feeling he has obtained, nothing will stop him from protecting the one thing that matters most to him.

And according to him…..that thing is me.

I still don't understand why someone like him, who is strong, powerful, feared, and betrayed, would have an interest in someone like me who is weak, helpless, regularly happy, and loving….. But maybe that was it. Maybe all he wants is someone to love him other than his brother and sister who have finally come to accept him as their brother, and do not fear him anymore. Someone to love him for him, even through his faults and out brakes. Someone he could always depend on to never betray him, or criticize him. Someone to just _tell_ him that they loved him, and _show_ it as well. Maybe that someone was _me._ Maybe he just wants to be satisfied with himself…..Maybe all he wants is love.

I mean, that's all everyone wants right? Someone to love them unconditionally and never leave them.

Someone to hold them close, and never let go.

That's all I ever wanted. Even after Sasuke left, it still took me a while to figure out that he was gone for good…and that I would never change his mind about loving me.

But now it doesn't matter anymore, because I know now that all he was, was a low life jerk…and that's all he will ever be to me from now on.


	2. The Park

I do not own Naruto.

Just another sunny day in Konoha.

Spring.

My favorite time of the year when the cherry blossoms start to bloom. What better way to spend the day than at the park with Naruto.

After all, we were supposed to meet together today and discuss some strategies on how he could tell Hinata his true feelings…. Finally!

Over the past 4 years, Naruto and I have become extremely close, and were like brother and sister now. We usually talked daily, and told each other everything.

It all started after Sasuke left the village to join Orochimaru to obtain more power for revenge on his brother Itachi. I was a weak, crying mess, but Naruto always seemed to find a way to cheer me up and encourage me that I deserved way better. And because of that, he is now my best friend.

Okay! I'm finally at the park….but where's Naruto?

"Naruto?" I said out loud, almost at a whisper. There was a rustling up in the trees.

"What wa….."

*CRASH*

Something, or someone, lashed out at me from above. I sent whoever the intruder was into a nearby tree with one blow of my foot, not having time to see who they were.

"Naruto! I told you not to scar me like that!"

"Sorry Sakura….I just wanted to see how well you're training with Lady Tsunade was coming. And now I know that it's coming very well." He said with that boyish smile of his, while getting out of the now 'Naruto indented' tree.

I just smiled at the action. He always makes that face to make me feel better.

"Alright, let's just walk." I stated with a kind smile.

"This way Mi'Lady." He said to me while directing me in the directing of my favorite park bench.

We both sat down and started discussing how the hyperactive blonde could ask out the love of his life.

We've been discussing the situation for a while now, and I finally convinced Naruto to just walk up to Hinata, be himself, and ask her out.

"Sakura!... Sakura!" screamed a familiar voice from down the path.

"Oh, hey TenTen!" I said with a friendly smile.

"Hey, I…..was supposed to tell you….. that Lady Tsunade….was looking for you…..She needs to meet with you." The weapon master said in between breaths…making it obvious that she ran all over the village just to find me.

"About what?" I asked, a little shocked.

"I don't know, she didn't tell me." She started, starting to regain her breathe. "All she said was that it was very important."

"Oh, well, okay. I guess I'll head to the Hokage's tower pretty soon. Is that okay Naruto?" I asked.

"Ya, sure! We can talk later!" The blonde replied with his famous smile, and gave me two thumbs up.

"Okay, well I guess I'll see you guys later then!" I said and waved goodbye.

"See ya Sakura!" and with that, I was off.


	3. The Mission

I do not own Naruto. But I would like to.

*Knock, Knock*

"Come in!" The Hokage shouted… getting a little upset due to its only the afternoon, and she already ran out of all of her sake.

"Hey Lady Tsunade. I was told that you wanted to see me…." I stated, but then drifted off because of something, rather someone, well two someones, who caught my attention.

"Temari?...Kankuro?" I asked puzzeled.

"Sakura! Long time, no see!" Temari said while rushing over to the pink haired medic, and engulfing her in a big bear hug.

"Hey! Save some huggin' for me!" Shouted a playfully annoyed puppet master.

"Fine!" Temari said as she let go of me.

"Hey pinkie." Kanuro said as he engulfed me in a great big bear hug as well.

"Hey Kankuro! How are you doing?" I asked in a concerned and caring voice.

"A lot better, thanks to you." He said with a smile.

"Well that's great!" I said enthusiastically.

Temari, Kankuro, and I go way back to whenever I captured all the poison that was in Kankuro's body, and healed him. Ever since then, we've been spending as much time as possible together whenever they came and visited Konoha. I love whenever they come to visit. But this time was certainly a surprise because they came without telling anyone….but I'm still really glad that they came!

"Hey wait," I started. "but if you're here… where is Ga…." I started to Ask while letting go of Kankuro.

"Here." A farmiliar, deep-raspy voice cut me off. I whipped around and saw him leaning on a wall behind me. I had no idea as to how I missed him being there. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, hey Gaara." I said with a sweet smile, trying not to show any sign of fear….although I tried to grow out of it, there was always a little bit of that fear of him left inside of me. Almost all of it went away whenever I started training to become a medic.

But that doesn't mean the nightmares stop…especially lately. It's the same dream, the same feeling of fear rushing through my body. I keep on having the dream of the chunin exams back when I was 12. And I know that Gaara has changed not only for the better of himself, but for his village. That's why he is such a great Kazekage.

It's been a while since I've last seen him…and I got to admit… he has become extremely handsome, and tall! He isn't the short Gaara I've always known, but now he is a whole head and a couple inches taller than me. A complete surprise!

I noticed myself staring, then quickly looked away.

"I hate to brake up the reunion, " The older medic started. " But we _DO_ need to get down to business."

"O ya, I almost forgot… why _did_ you call me here?" I asked curiosly.

"I have a special A-rank mission for you guys."

"You guys?" I started. " You mean we are going to be working on a mission, together?"

"Yes Sakura. The 5 of you are going to be working on a mission _together._ I expect you guys to work as a team, even though I know that won't be hard for you." Tsunade finished.

"Wait….what do you mean the 5 of us…there are only 4?" Kankuro questioned.

"Well, I supposed that you could use a little more company. So you will be taking Naruto with you."

"Seriously?" Everyone, except Gaara, asked. Some sounding excited, while others sounding annoyed *cough*Kankuro*cough*.

"But wait…" Temari started. "What _is_ the mission?"

Lady Tsunade just stared at everyone and said, "Intruders."


	4. The Sunset

I do not own Naruto

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><p>"What does granny mean 'intruders' ?" A blonde asked rather loudly. I just got done telling him about the mission. I found him at Ichiraku, his favorite ramen shop. Like I even had to look for him, ya right.<p>

"I don't know Naruto." I stated

"Well at least the Sand Siblings are coming! Now Gaara and I can catch up!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

Naruto and Gaara go way back. Since they both contained a monster inside of them, they could both relate and understand each other. Naruto was Gaara's first friend, and was now his best friend.

Although the Akatsuki captured the demon within Gaara a couple of years ago, his friendship with Naruto never even wavered, but because as strong as ever.

"But Sakura….why are we teaming up with the Sand Siblings, other than another team from the leaf village?"

"I have no clue. But I sure am curious!" I exclaimed.

"Ya, me too!" The blonde replied.

"Hey, I'm gonna go for a walk. Wanna come?" I asked.

"Nah…I'm actually going to talk to Hinata!" He said with his signature boyish smile.

"Alright. Well good luck!" I sweetly smiled and waved goodbye once again.

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><p>The park sure is beautiful today! I was walking down the path, when I came across my favorite park bench…. The bench I passed out on the night Sasuke left. It still held so many memories. It's the bench I always go to whenever I'm feeling sad or depressed, then Naruto usually finds me and comforts me.<p>

The sun is setting now, and I got to admit, it looks amazing. So I sat down on my bench and watched it slowly sink down beneath the trees. Yes…_this_ is the life.

"Beautiful, isn't it."

I snapped out of my train of thoughts and started to look around. Wait… I know that voice.

"Gaara?" I said looking around.

"Up here." He said from up in a tree across the path. He didn't look at me, but was focusing on the setting sun instead.

I got up from my bench, and walked over to the bottom without looking at him. I leaned against the tree and just stared at the sunset with him. We stayed like that for what seemed like forever.

All of the sudden, there was a small thud behind me. I was startled at first, but then relaxed cause I knew it was just him.

I slowely turned around to face him, and found that he was no more than 2 feet away from me…just staring at me.

"Are you okay, Gaara?" I asked in a concerned voice. "You don't seem like yourself today."

He didn't say anything, just stood there staring at me with those jade eyes of his. But what really caught my attention was that there wasn't the normal cold-hearted expression on his face, but a soft one staring down at me….with what seemed like a hint of sadness and hurt in his eyes.

Without saying anything, he slowly walked over to me until his head was by my ear.

"I'm sorry" He whispered, then disappeared in a whirlwind of sand.

"What?... Sorry for what?" I whispered into the now darkness of the night. With that, I went home.

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><p>The next morning, I woke up to a bright ray of sunshine entering my room.<p>

"Today is the day." I said to myself.

I got up and walked over to my dresser and took some clothes out, got dressed, while packing some clothes away for the mission.

We are supposed to meet with Lady Tsunade today befor we head out. She still didn't tell us what she meant by 'intruders'. But it must be very important if it's A-rank. I just can't wait to find out what it is.

After getting ready, i walked out of my apartment building, and was heading to the old bridge to meet up with Naruto so we could head over together.

"Oi! Sakura!" I heard a female voice calling my name.

I turned around to see Temari running towards me.

"Hey Temari." I said with a friendly smile. "Hey, can i walk with you?" She asked.

"Ya, sure...but wait, where is Kankuro and Gaara?"

"Oh, they are already there. I kind of woke up late." She said while rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh, alright." I started "Hey," i started agian. "Has Gaara been feeling okay lately?"

"Ya, as far as i know. Why?" She replied.

"Oh, it's nothing. He just hasn't seemed like, _himself_, lately. And I'm kind of concerned."

"Oh really? Not himself?...hmmm... We'll just have to get to the bottom of this then. This sounds like a job for, SUPER SISTER!" Temari shouted the last part, while in a super hero pose.

"Don't worry Sakura, well figure this out." She said while giving me a huge smile...that strangely reminded me of Lee.

"Ok Temari. I just hope he is okay."

"You do, do you?" she said while giving a weird and creepy smile.

"You know, cause he's your little brother, and your one of my best friends." I recovered.

"Okay Sakura...whatever you say." She gave a small chuckle as we reached the bridge.

"AH! It's about time! Oh hi Temari." Naruto exclaimed.

"Hey Naruto."

"Okay... off to see what mission granny has for us today." I replied, kind of excited.

"Yep!" the other two replied.


	5. Starting Over

**I Do NOT own Naruto, if I did….holy crap.**

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><p>"Okay team," Tsunade started, "this mission is different than any other one." We were sitting around her desk awaiting the news.<p>

"It's probably one of the hardest mission any of you have ever gone on." There was a short pause, followed by Tsunade speaking again. "We are being attacked by the Akatsuki." she finished with a sigh.

"Is that it?" asked a shocked Naruto. "That's why you called the Sand Siblings here to do this mission with us? With all due respect Granny, the teams of Konoha can take the Akatsuki on perfectly fine without backup from other villages." He finished, irritated at the old woman.

"No Naruto. If you only let me finish, it isn't_ just_ the Akatsuki, its Orochimaru also."

"What!" I shouted in total disbelief. "If it's _both_ of them, don't you think that we need more than just the five of us?" by this time I was _really_ starting to freak out.

"Who ever said that it was going to be just the five of you?" Tsunade answered with an amused look.

"Wait….what?" Kankuro asked.

"You five are only one of the teams. All the other Konoha teams are joining up with other teams from different villages as well. That's why I called you Sand Siblings in. I knew if you guys were matched up with my two best shinobi, you guys would be one of the, if not the, strongest team….this meaning, I need you guys to go in first." Tsunade finished.

"FIRST?" everyone exclaimed, except Gaara.

"Well ya. I need you guys to go in and work together, because fighting together, you guys are nearly invincible." The older Hokage finished with a smile.

Everyone stayed silent until Tsunade smoke again. "I know you guys can do it. Now go get ready, you all leave in 30 minutes."

"Yes ma'am." Everyone replied respectfully, even Gaara this time.

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><p>We have been traveling through the trees for a while now. It's starting to get dark out, so I assume that we are going to make camp pretty soon when we find a clearing in the woods.<p>

The incident with Gaara last night is still freshly burnt in my mind, and has been all day. I think I'm going to suck it up and try to talk to him about it. Gaara apologizing is just something unheard of.

"Hey guys, how about up here?" Temari asked while pointing to a barren spot that we could make camp on.

With a nod from all of us, it was decided and we set up camp for the night.

X

It's now dark and we are all sitting around a huge campfire that Kankuro built (Probably unstable and dangerous) and are cooking some food.

We were laughing and talking and having a good time. It was almost like an actual camping trip, besides the fact that it was an A-rank, totally dangerous, mission where any of us could get killed at any moment. But that still didn't stop us from having fun.

Even after eating we all still hung out and talked for a pretty long time. Except Gaara, who soon after eating, went for a walk.

"Okay peoples," Temari announced, "I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Ya, that actually sounds like a good idea." Naruto responded.

After all the 'goodnights' were exchanged, everyone went inside their tents. Well except me.

I couldn't really sleep anyways. The situation from last night just WON'T STOP running through my head.

Wait! Now's my chance! I could go find Gaara and talk to him! Yes, great idea. Plus, it wouldn't be a bad idea to spend some time and get to know him. We _are_ on the same team now after all.

After about five minutes of looking, I was thinking about maybe giving up because he was nowhere to be found.

I turned to walk back, when someone's hand went over my mouth, and someone was quietly shushing me, while firmly holding me in place.

I would've struck the person, but saw a glimpse of crimson hair, so sighed a muffled sigh of relief instead. And before I could say anything, he removed his hand from my mouth, then grabble my own hand and started leading me somewhere.

X

When we got to where I guess he was taking me, there was a HUGE clearing. It turned out to be a field…..Wait! It's _the_ field. The field where Lady Chiyo healed Gaara, then died from the life transfer.

That was a very sad day. Everyone loved Lady Chiyo, and is was terrible to see her go.

But anyways, the question is, 'why did he take me here?'

He led me over to a comfortable looking spot… the spot where he got healed. How could I forget.

He sat down, and I did the same. He finally let go of my hand and proceeded to lay down to look at the night sky better.

So I did the same. There ended up being a long pause of silence. I wanted to ask him about the incident, or at least why he brought me here. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out, so I quickly shut it again. Then more silence came.

"Do you ever think that the moon might be lonely?" he asked, making me jump a little. I was too taken aback to answer right away.

"No." I answered bluntly. "I don't see how it could, I mean, it's surrounded be all of those stars."

"But what if they secretly think it's a monster. It's so much bigger than they are." he replied.

"How could something so beautiful be a monster?" I replied back while turning my head to look at him. His face held an expression that was filled with worry and hurt, and what seemed like a glint of joy.

It was true. How could something _that_ beautiful, be a monster. I mean just look at him. His jade orbs reflecting the moon's light. His crimson locks gently blowing in the slight breeze. He looks unreal. He looks gorgeous.

WAIT WHAT! Holy crap …I just said that the Kazakage of the Sand Village was…._gorgeous! _What is wrong with me! I can't be having these thoughts! Especially about a Kage from one of our ally villages! I quickly turned my attention back to the sky. It was absolutely absurd and unheard of to have such thoughts of a man of his rank.

We continued to stare up at the stars for what seemed like eternity. And for once in my life, I was completely at ease. No worries or frustration, just calmness.

"Do you think that someone like _me_ could be loved like that?" he asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"Yes. Absolutely." I replied softly yet truefully.

He got up, and extended his hand to help me up. I sat up and I took it without another thought, and he pulled me up as well.

Without warning, he engulfed me in an embrace so powerful, I stopped breathing for a few seconds. I slowly put my arms around him out of instinct and I felt him tense up for a second, but then relax. I don't think he was expecting me to hug back, but took in the fact that I actually did, then embraced me a little tighter.

"Thank you." He muffled. "And I truly am sorry."

I was completely shocked still, but decided that I still needed to talk to him because he was bringing up what I have been waiting for. "For what?" I answered, anxious to hear his reply.

"For hurting you, and threatening your life. Ever since that day I wanted to tell you how sorry I was. I was blinded by rage, and that was wrong." came his explanation. He pulled back and looked directly into my eyes, letting me know that he was serious.

There was a rustling in the woods a little bit behind us. We both whipped around. Gaara sent sand flying in the intruder's direction, and pulled the person back to them.

"Hey! This isn't fair!" the intruder, a.k.a. Naruto, protested.

"Naruto!" I shouted at him, followed by Gaara's infamous death glare.

"What? I just wanted to see where you guys were going!"

"How long have you been there!" I exclaimed, let's just say very, very angrily.

"Not long! I swear! Just long enough to see you guys hugging! Please don't hurt me Sakura! Please!" the blonde begged while hanging upside down, still caught in Gaara's sand.

"Wait a minute…..why _were _you guys hugging?" Naruto continued with a growing, gleaming smile and crossed his arms.

"We weren't." Gaara answered sternly yet simply.

"But I clearly saw yo…"

"I said we weren't." Gaara cut him off sternly. He let Naruto down, well dropped him is more of the correct way of saying it.

"I'll talk to you later Naruto." Gaara said while still glaring at him.

"Alright! Alright! I'm going." Naruto said while defensively throwing his hands in the air. "Just don't get _too _crazy." Naruto winked and chuckled, then ran for his life.

Gaara was going to go after him of course, but a voice stopped him.

"I just try to ignore the idiot's remarks usually. Anyways, it is getting pretty dark and we should probably get back to the camp soon, big day tomorrow after all." I said while turning towards him and smiling gently.

"Ya, I guess you're right." Gaara agreed.

* * *

><p>"Goodnight Gaara." I said before making my way into the tent that I was sharing with Temari.<p>

"Goodnight…..Sakura."

Before I got into my tent, I quickly ran over to Gaara and hugged him one last time.

"What happened is in the past. We can start over now if you like." I said gently.

"That would be great." He replied and began to release me, but I wasn't done quite yet.

"By the way, you are _NOT_ a monster Gaara." I whispered in his ear.

"Thank you….so much Sakura." he tightened his hold one more time then let go.

"Yup." I genuinely smiled then went back into my tent.

"So, spending some quality time with my little brother I see." Temari asked me, making me jump because I didn't know she was still awake.

"Ya, but he just wanted to talk to me about something." I replied.

"And about what?" she asked me again, obviously amused.

"It was about metical stuff. Probably wouldn't interest you." I recovered then began to lay down in my sleeping bag.

"You know, he doesn't just talk to anyone on a whim." Temari replied, an eyebrow raised.

"Ya, well it was just about some medical tips that he wanted to know so that he could share them with your medics back home. He said that they could be useful." I finished, really hoping that she believed my story.

"Oh alright." Temari said still amused. "Well that's good." She continued with a smirk. "Anyways, we better get to sleep. Goodnight Sakura."

"Ya. Goodnight Temari." with that, we both drifted off to sleep. Little did we know of a certain red headed Kage who was listening to the whole conversation from outside.

A smile plastered on his face.

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><p>Sorry bout the extremely late update. Been busy with my other stories and such! Anyways hoped you like it! R&amp;R please! c;<p> 


	6. The Field

**I don't own Naruto.**

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><p>*CRASH*<p>

"NARUTO!"

I came out of my tent and was welcomed by bright rays of sunshine and birds singing…..and Naruto laying on the ground next to a pile of once nicely piled pans and utensils.

"Naruto, what did you do _now_?" I asked with a sigh and rolled my eyes.

"Sakura! Yay!" he got up and hid behind me.

"Naruto!"

"It's Kankuro! He's trying to kill me!" he exclaimed, visibly scared for his life.

"Well, why?"

"Because I played a trick on him." he now had a devious smile, " I kind of put a vicious, hungry squirrel in his tent this morning. I know how much he is afraid of them…it was hilarious."

"Well where is he now!" I asked irritated at the lack of companionship amungst our new team. "Down by the river, cleaning out his wounds." he finished while chuckling.

I sighed "Alright. I'll go take a look at him."

"I'll come as well." Gaara stated out of nowhere.

X

"Im going to KILL that twerp!"

"Kankuro stop moving! It's hard to heal your wounds when you are squirming all over the place!"

"Sorry Sakura." Kankuro replied to me with a bit of anger in his voice.

*5 minutes later*

"There you go, all healed."

"Thanks."

"Yup"

"I'm going to head back to camp." Kankuro waved then left. "Okay, just _don't_ kill Naruto!" I called after him. "Don't count on it!" He yelled without looking back, then disappeared.

I sat down on a rock nearby the river and invited Gaara to sit by me. "It's a nice day."

"Yes it is." Gaara stated without looking at me. "Your brothers hilarious. He's always getting in trouble." I said with a giggle. He chuckled, "I guess he does more often than not."

I smiled a bit. I'm still debating on whether or not to ask him what he meant last night when he said that he was sorry. But he did seem to be a little beaten up about it, so I figured I would just leave it alone for right now.

"So, you ready to go into battle on this fine day?" I stared up at the clear blue skies, then down at the red head. He smiled back, "I don't see why not."

I looked back at the sky again and squinted at the brightness of the sun.

"Then let's go spill some blood." I said in an enthused voice then got up and started to walk back to camp. Gaara got up and we walked back together.

* * *

><p>When we got back, they already had everything packed and were eating breakfast, so we joined them.<p>

"So when are the other teams supposed to be meeting us?" Kankuro asked.

"Anytime now I hope." Temari answered.

"Well, we can't wait around here all day. We got to get going." Naruto replied.

After eating , we headed out again in search of the intruders.

I'm really starting to get nervous. What if the intruders are who I think they are. And if it is, that means that _he_ is coming. That would be the end of me, my self-control, and the wall I've built around my emotions over all these years.

I just hope it's not them…..

"Hello? Sakura!"

"What?" I snapped out of my train of thought. "Are you okay Sakura? You're acting…weird." Naruto asked as he jumped through the trees beside me, everyone else ahead of us. "Oh, ya… I was just thinking. Sorry." I plastured a fake smile on my face. Naruto could probably see right through it though, he was the only one who could.

"Sakura, if you're worried about something, you can always talk to me about it. You know that." Naruto said with a worried expression.

"Ya, I know Naruto, thanks. It's just what if…..if he….."

"If _he_ is there?" Naruto cut me off.

"Ya…." I replied while focusing my vision on the ground below us. "Sakura, it's going to be alright. Besides, you have me here to protect you. Plus Temari, Kankuro, and even Gaara!" Naruto smiled at me.

I smiled back, but at the thought of Gaara actually protecting me. Especially after what happened before when we were young. But after all, he _did_ change and is now the Kazekage of his village.

"Besides," the blonde started again, "A little reunion could help with your battle skills."

"Yes. That's why I won't need protection from you guys. I think It's about time I got stronger." I replied with a serious expression.

"You_ have_ become stronger though. I mean, _I'm_ afraid of you."

"Naruto, you have always been afraid of me."

"Well now I'm more scared then. " I just laughed at him. "I love you Naruto. You're the best- best friend anyone could ever have." I smiled over at my brother-like friend.

"Aw, I love you too Sakura-chan! If it wasn't for you, then I would of never had the guts to ask Hinata out!"

"Oh my gosh! I forgot about that, what did she say!"

"What else could she say to this beautiful face." he stated while pointing up to his face.

"She said yes? Oh my gosh Naruto! That's great!" I said in an excited high-pitched voice.

"Ya, just don't tell Neji yet. I _want_ to live another day." Naruto said with a scared expression this time.

"Hey guys, the field is just a bit farther. We should be there in a couple of minutes. Stay on your toes." Temari yelled back to us.

* * *

><p>"Alright, get into position. Naruto, Kankuro and myself will get the left. Sakura, you and Gaara will take the right until the other teams get here. Now split up! We done have much time." Temari finished. <em>'Finally, we can figure this out. I'm almost 100% sure that Sakura is the reason behind Gaara's weird actions lately. Well now I can find out for sure! Mwahahahahahaha! I'm so smart I impress myself sometimes.' <em>Temari smiled to herself in her crepperish way.

"Are you alright Sakura?"

"Huh? Oh ya Gaara, im fine."

"You sure? You've been acting….different."

"It's nothing. Really. I'm fine." I masked my worried face with that of a smiling one.

"Alright." he said while looking the other direction.

We sat there for what seemed like 20 minutes. I know that I have to ask Gaara sooner or later, but I just can't find the words.

I looked over at him and he seemed to be in his normal state, an emotionless face and no sign of fear. Maybe now wouldn't be such a good time to ask, I don't want to take his mind off of the battle. Maybe I'll ask him tonight.

All of the sudden, there was a feeling of farmiliar chakra nearby. There was someone coming, a group of people…. The unwanted ones I've been expecting.

The Akatsuki.

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><p>Alright guys, sorry it was so short, it was kind of a filler, but a needed one. So read and review! I'm excited for the next chapter, so I'll try my best to update soon! c:<p> 


	7. Hello, Love

**I don't own Naruto**

* * *

><p>Before I knew it, there was an explosion nearby. I quickly averted my attention to where the noise was coming from, and saw a strange figure flying through the air, and instead of crashing to the ground, they regained their stance perfectly, gliding on the ground a bit when they hit the grass. Tenten, Neji, and Lee leap out from behind some of the trees and started to engage themselves in combat with this strange figure.<p>

This person's chakra was all too familiar, and I knew exactly who it was.

Itachi.

This meant that not only were the others not too far behind, but also that he was near. After all, the Akatsuki NEVER travel alone.

I glanced over to Gaara, who had the same old bored expression on his face. I just wanted to talk to him so bad, but I knew I couldn't until we were all safe.

So I turned my attention back to the fight. I knew there was no going around it, I had to face him. No matter what. And I wasn't exactly sitting well with that fact.

I then heard the signal to move forward.

We quickly found new cover in some of the trees that were closer to the fight.

He was just over that hill, I could feel him now. And I didn't like that, not at _all_.

I started to find it getting extremely hard to breath. I looked over to Naruto who gave me a reassuring nod, which I returned hesitantly and got back into position.

I know he is getting closer and closer to us. Which means the more nervous I am getting. I swallowed hard.

Much to my surprise, a hand appeared on my shoulder. I whipped my head around and was met be jade staring down at me. This time it was him who nodded then returned his attention back to the hill. So I did the same.

It had been a couple more minutes now and still no sign of them.

Tenten, Neji, and Lee were still fighting Itachi in a battle that seemed like it would never end. I glanced back over to Gaara, questioning him with my look. He just shook his head and watched the hill more contently.

The suspense was killing me. Where. Were. They.

I threw a rock at Naruto to get his attention. I didn't know what was going on, and I was just seeking a little more comfort for what was about to come. He was no help though, he just overreacted from getting hit in the head with a pebble and since he couldn't read lips, he just settled with watching the hill again. I sighed to myself in defeat and did the same.

Out of nowhere three familiar figures wearing long black cloaks with the same red cloud pattern appeared.

The signal to attack was given, but all I could do was staring at the new group while the rest of my group snuck forward to engage themselves into some fierce battles of their own.. . But something horrible was happening.

He was nowhere to be seen.

My heart started to beat faster and faster out of fear. This fear grew more and more as I felt a presence behind me.

"Hello, love."

I whipped around and became face to face with the known intruder.

"Sasori." I can't say that I was shocked. I knew it was him before I even turned around.

"What, you're not happy to see me?" he mocked me with a fake questioning look. I used to love the looks he would give me when he was joking around. But now I hate them. Now they are only poison to my mind.

After what happened, there's no doubt that I had no desire to see him. At all.

"What do you want Sasori?"

" Hmmm. What do I want?" he repeated as he took another step closer. "I believe the question is, what do _you_ want."

"Don't play this game with me!" I said harshly, just about yelling. "What. Do. You. Want."

"Jeeze, calm down Sakura. You really have gotten tense over the years."

"Shut up and answer the question."

He chuckled darkly. "What I want," he moved closer to me until our noses were almost touching, "What I _truly_ want… is you." Before I knew it, he grabbed the back of my head forcefully and crashed his lips onto mine. He rapped his free arm around me tightly so that I couldn't go anywhere.

I couldn't move to begin with. I was too struck with shock that I was frozen. What was he doing this for? What would he want with me now? He knows that I would never go back with him. That was all too much for me to handle right now. I don't like the way he makes me feel anymore.

All of the sudden, a substance started to find it way in between him and me and started to push him away from me.

I looked down at the substance. Sand?... Sand! Gaara!

I looked to my right, and sure enough, there was the flaming Kazekage himself.

He ripped Sasori away from me completely, then sent him flying into about 7 trees, smashing each one successfully.

I watched Gaara stalk dangerously over to where Sasori had landed, and then pick him up once more with his sand.

He started to cover Sasori's whole body with his sand.

I quickly ran to Gaara's side. "Gaara, you can't kill him by just crushing him. He will only regenerate, it's no use."

"What are you talking about?" he snarled.

"He's a puppet master."

"Ya, so is my idiot brother."

"No, he is a puppet master, who is also a puppet as well!" I finally got through to him.

"What?" he looked at me with disbelief.

"Sasori, he's a puppet. The only way to kill him is to destroy that cylinder he calls a heart." I stated.

_He was always beautiful. Never changing. Always had that something about him that was just so fascinating. I guess that's why I fell for him._

"That's the only way to kill him." I repeated.

There was another explosion heard, followed by sand flying everywhere. Sasori was now missing.

He must have gotten the explosives from Deidara, who activated them from far away.

Sasori _knew_ this would happen! But how? "Hey Sakura!" I turned around to see Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru running towards us. Following the was Kiba, Hinata, and Shino.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked.

" Ya, I'm fine. But you guys should really go and help the others."

"Alright, well be careful then." Kiba said.

"Will do." I answered, then we split up.

After they left, I turned back to Gaara to discuss the game plan.

"Alright Gaara, here is what we need to do. Somehow, we got to take out his heart. We only have one shot at it, so it has to be a good one."

"Leave that to me, you just distract him. He would be too caught up with you that he probably won't even notice me." I nodded in agreement to his plan. "I'll go try and find a hiding spot close to his location, then when I see he is distracted, I'll strike."

"Sounds good. Oh and Gaara…. Be careful." I gave him a genuine smile.

He looked shocked at first, but then replied. "You too."

I grinned a huge grin then.

"Now let's go kill some puppets."

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><p>There you go guys! It was kind of another filler, sorry. And i know that kit moved really fast. It's just extremely hard to write this from Sakura's point of view. Anyways, R&amp;R! ^^<p> 


	8. Leave Past in the Past

_There he was in a mist of smoke._

_I had to attack him. That was our mission._

_And there was no time to be weak from distraction. I had to strike soon._

_But the world just seemed to be moving in slow motion. That's when we made eye contact. And that's when he disappeared._

_I looked around frantically, trying to find the missing Akatsuki member. But I had no luck._

_I turned around to run and search for him, but was blocked by a dark figure._

_I looked up and was immediately mezmorized by his beautiful brown eyes._

_And that's all I remember._

_I woke up to find myself in a poorly lit room with no windows and only a bed, closet, desk, and a door._

_I sat up on the bed that I was laying on and stared off into the somewhat darkness, trying to remember how I got here. But it was no use. I didn't remember a thing._

_I sat there for what had to of been at least 2 hours._

_I nearly jumped off the bed when I heard the door open._

_I glared at the redhead as he slowly walked into the room and closed the door behind him._

_He stalked his way over to the bed and stared down at me, his eyes reflecting the lowlight._

"_You must be afraid." was all he said to me._

_My glare intensified. "What makes you think that I would be afraid from the likes of you?" I spat back._

_He gave me a wicked smirk then._

"_You're different from before. From when you were younger that is."_

"_Where am I, and why am I hear. What do you want from me?" _

"_There is no time for such questions." He replied, averting the questions. "Come. We must go meet up with the others."_

"_You mean the rest of the Akatsuki? What are you planning? Obviously you aren't going to kill me, otherwise you would've done it when we were battling, and would not have brought me back to this place…your headquarters?"_

"_You ask a lot of questions you know. And we don't have any reason to kill you. Not yet anyways." With that he grabbed my hand in his and pulled me off the bed and out the door._

_He drug me down long corridors that all seemed to look the same. How could he never get lost?_

_Eventually we arrived at a pair of double doors that when opened led to a large room with a long table in the middle. This must be the dining room. But why would he take me here?_

_He snapped me out of my thoughts by dragging me over to said table and pulling out an empty seat for me to sit in._

_I did as commanded and sat down. Then he took an empty seat next to me._

"_So Sasori, THIS is your souvenir. I must say that I wasn't expecting this, un." a man with a ponytail, much like Ino's actually, remarked to the man I now know as Sasori._

"_Yes, I must say I was expecting something stupid like a rock or something, but this is a total change of interest." another man with slicked down white hair added._

"_That's enough guys." A woman with beautiful blue hair commanded as she was coming out of, what seemed like, the kitchen and was carrying a tray of food._

_She set it down on the table and found an empty seat as well._

_And instead of everyone digging into the food like I was expecting, they just continued to sit there and talk amongst themselves._

"_You must be what Sasori has been looking for. It's nice to meet you, I'm Konan" the woman said to me with a genuine smile. For some reason, I felt better knowing there was a girl in the Akatsuki._

"_I would assume. It's nice to meet you too, I'm Sakura." I replied with a smile of my own, half fake, have genuine as well. I didn't feel the need to tell her and the rest of them my last name, this is still a very dangerous situation I'm in after all._

_I have been captured by the Akatsuki of all groups. One of the most dangerous and powerful ninja groups out there._

_Then all of the sudden the same pair of double doors that we came into had opened, and in came a relatively tall man with orange hair, and A LOT of piercings._

_He walked over to the table and took a seat beside the woman._

_After he sat down, everyone started to dig into the food._

_He glanced over at me, stared for a minute, then shook his head gently and looked back to his food._

_Since everyone else was eating, and because my stomach was disagreeing with not eating, I grabbed a plate of food myself._

_X_

_Dinner was actually sort of…..pleasant._

_The Akatsuki actually acted more of a family than just comrades. _

_Jokes were being passed around the table, stories of people's day, and just plain none-death related conversations. Since both of my parents were killed while on a mission, I haven't had a meal like this in a long time, other than every now and then with my friends. But it was nice._

_After dinner, everyone parted ways. Some going to bed, other's going to what sounded like a living room which I assumed was huge as well._

_Before I knew it, Sasori grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my seat and into the corridors once more._

_He led me down them. I still had no clue where he was taking me, whether it would be back to the room I woke up in, or to another one._

_We eventually came to a stop in front of one of the rooms._

_Sasori led the way in. _

_It appeared to be a bedroom. The same one as before to be precise. I could tell because I saw my headband sitting on the table. I must have dropped it when I was being carried away to this place._

_It was unexpected, but nice for Sasori to pick it up for me and bring it with him._

"_This will be your room for the time being. There is a bathroom 3 doors down. Goodnight Sakura."_

_He left without letting me reply or even ask another question._

_Why was I here anyways? What did they want with me? Actually, it seems that only Sasori has a purpose for me. The others seemed surprised to see me._

_This was certainly going to be a long trip._

_X_

_Weeks flew by before I knew it._

_I still don't know what I'm doing here. Sasori won't tell me anything._

_And although I am being held captive, I have actually started to grow accustom to living with the Akatsuki. It actually does feel like I have a family again._

_I have even been able to spar with some of the members, especially with Deidara. And I have been able to practice my healing, especially on Tobi._

_But one thing that concerns me is that Sasori and I are starting to grow really close. _

_Every day I spend at least most of my day with him out of all of the members. Whether we train, play some sort of game, or even just hang out. It just doesn't seem real._

_How could I have grown this close to the Akatsuki? This is still an extremely risky and deadly situation. How could I feel so comfortable!_

_Even Konan and I have gotten closer. Well, that was actually predicted given we are the only two girls in this place._

_But still, it just doesn't feel right. I miss my friends so much._

_They must be searching for me. Or maybe they gave up. Maybe they haven't been searching at all. After all, I still am pretty weak and all I ever did was get in people's way._

_No, I can't start thinking like that. I know for a fact that Naruto would never give up on me. Were too much like family for that to happen._

_Sasori pulled me out of my thoughts by grabbing my hand and lacing his fingers with mine. _

_He has been doing that a lot lately. Not just grabbing my hand, because he has been doing that since day one, but the whole lacing thingy. What does that mean? Is he hinting that he is interested in me? Or is he afraid that I'm going to try and run away, therefore getting a better grip on my hand?_

_This is all too confusing. _

_He led me out of the dining room where we were just eating dinner with the others, and down the long corridors as always. _

_But I now have gotten the feel for this place, and now have some sort of idea of how to get to a couple places like my room, the dining room, the living/gaming room, and the (what I assume) is a courtyard type thing where we go to train or just spar._

_But he wasn't leading me to any one of those rooms._

_When we stopped, we were in front of a door that looked just like the others. Only this time when Sasori opened it, it revealed a bedroom. _

_But it wasn't just any bedroom, it had wooden dolls and knives all along the wall._

_It turned out to be Sasori's room._

"_What are we doing here?" I asked him, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice._

_He didn't answer though. He closed the door behind him like always, only this time he locked it._

_He drug me over to the bed without a word._

_He sat me down and then went over to his closet and took off his cloak, revealing a surprisingly well built body hiding under a mesh shirt, and the rest of his pants that are always covered by the cloak._

_He then returned to standing in front of me and instead of talking to me as usual, he gently yet forcefully pushed me back onto the bed so that I was now laying on my back._

_He gently came up to where he was now hovering over me, trapping me with both his arms and legs, and was staring down at what was my now utterly shocked face. _

_He smiled and leaned down to whisper in my ear._

"_You will eventually love me." Was all he said before he deeply yet passionately kissed me._

_The rest of that night had turned out to be a heated love filled night between the two of us._

_I now know what the whole lacing thingy was about._

_X_

_It has been probably around 6 months now since I have first arrived at the Akatsuki hideout._

_Nothing has really changed, other than Sasori and I are now lovers and I have taking permanent residence in his room and bed._

_I still, still, STILL, have no clue why I am here or what they/he wants from me._

_And I'm getting very angry with that fact._

_Although I have decided to just let the matter go for now, it still bothers me. _

_Things are even better between the Akatsuki and I know._

_Me and Itachi are now the houses most competitive and undefeatable pairing when it comes to video games. Which is weird because he is Sasuke's older brother who Sasuke was trying to kill all of these years, and it just so happens that I play video games with him at least 4 times a week._

_But that aside, I also now help Konan in the kitchen. I have found it much easier to talk to her now that she knows and trusts me._

_I've also even found it comfortable to talk to Pein on a daily basis. We talk as though we have been friends for years. He turned out not to be this scary psychopath that I always thought he would be. He is just a normal guy with a rough past._

_And although I am basically a part of the Akatsuki now, I still have a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. _

_Something is telling me that I need to leave. And soon._

_But as usual I ignore that feeling and carry on with my days._

_Since Sasori and I are the only other couple in the house besides Konan and Pein, we tend to get made fun of a lot by the other members._

_But I don't mind._

_That's how things would be at home too. If I ever do get back home that is._

_X_

_My heart is beating so fast, I don't know how much longer I can run._

_And as usual I am finding it extremely hard to navigate these corridors._

_But somehow, I have made it to a deserted part of the hideout._

_I can hear explosions and yelling in the background._

_I turn mid-run to see Sasori and his now puppet body hot on my tracks._

_I set up distraction to try and buy myself some time. And with luck I didn't know I had, the plan actually worked._

_I turned 3 corners and stopped whenever I spotted orange._

"_Naruto!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and flew into him for a swift hug, then drug him further down the halls._

"_Sakura! Oh my gosh I missed you so much!" He said while running behind her._

"_I missed you too Naruto! But I really need you to tell me how to get out of here!"_

"_It's through that door up there." He sped up his running so that he was leading the way._

"_You don't know the way out? You never went outside?" he asked while running._

"_I went outside, but only in this courtyard where we trained. And I never been outside of the hideout."_

"_You TRAINED with them?!"_

"_Naruto, now's really not the time to talk about this! I'll explain everything once we are safe."_

"_Alright, alright. Well I expect a full, detail rich, story from you!" he replied while they finally reached the exit and left the hideout once and for all. _

"_Where is everyone Naruto?" I asked looking around when we were finally safe to stop._

"_They are back in the hideout going against the Akatsuki." he replied, motioning to my no longer second home._

_I must admit that this was a very sad time for me. I now have to leave all of my friends that I have made, my family._

_But I had no choice._

_I finally found out what Sasori wanted with me._

_Apparently because I am the Hokage's apprentice, I have developed a rare capability when I mix my chakra and brute strength together._

_And he wanted that power…..so that he could make me into one of his puppets._

_But not just any puppet, one that he has created. Half alive, and half dead so that he could still have me poses my powerful chakra._

_That's also why he was waiting for so long. He was working on a way to do just that._

_Training with me daily, making me trust him…'loving me' was even part of his plan._

_I should've known he never really loved me._

_He doesn't have a heart now, but I don't think he ever did to begin with._

"_Sakura!" a familiar voice shouted from behind her._

_And sure enough, up running came Tenten and the gang._

"_Everything is safe for now. We have managed to weaken them. It appears that the redhead that took you is vulnerable where his heart would be, jut for future reference. He seems very powerful, and I don't know how long he is going to stay down. The rest seem to be normal, but deadly and are down as well. So we better hurry and get out if here." she stated._

_With that we made our leave._

_I looked back towards my lost 'home' once more as a silent tear fell down my cheek._

_X_

_Later that night, we made camp and I described everything to everyone about the past 8 months._

_I was skeptical about adding the part about Sasori and I, but decided to add that in as well._

_The time I spent at the Akatsuki hideout was life changing. I have seen them in a light I have never seen them before._

_But now it's all over._

_Now it's back to the way things used to be._

_Now it's back to Konoha._

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><p>There you go guys! I feel so relieved that I finally got this chapter up. It takes care of a lot. I also found it amusing whenever I proof read this chapter that I used the line "3 doors down" to describe where the bathroom was hehe. And yes I do love that band. So anyways, it's the usual R&amp;R ^^ thanks guys!<p> 


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